Winter
by Dorku No Renkinjutsushi
Summary: Sephiroth hates the winter. In response to a challenge on LJ. CloudZackSephiroth oneshot


**_I got this request from a fellow LJer from the Fic on Demand community. The following is her request and my response. Enjoy, yo._**

**Fandom:** Final Fantasy VII  
**Pairing:** Zack/Cloud/Sephiroth (not triangle-like, by-the-way. Triad, OT3, thing)  
**Situation:** Winter and fluff. Other than that, do as you wish.  
**Disclaimer:** _Final Fantasy_ and all characters therein are the property of Tetsuya Nomura and Square Enix, of which I am neither.

* * *

It was cold outside. Sephiroth absolutely hated it when it was cold outside, for many reasons. First of all, when it was cold outside, the human troopers tended to whine a bit more than usual. Because of the human inability to stand up to such cold temperatures, ShinRa had the awful habit of sending the SOLDIERs out instead. Bastards. Sephiroth couldn't decide which he hated more—ShinRa, or the winter.

Sephiroth had many reasons for hating winter. The cold temperatures had him and Zack standing guard much more than usual. Subsequently, there was a lot less time spent together. When they did manage to get together, Zack almost always had cold feet and hands. While such a feature was nice during the summer, it was brutal for their fully-human lover during the winter.

A sneeze echoed from the bedroom, and Sephiroth sighed. That was another reason he hated winter. Cloud almost always managed to pick up a cold. He'd insist upon sleeping in the barracks—he thought others would see it as favoritism if he didn't—and he served double shifts over the holidays so his fellow troopers could visit their families. The combination of cold, crowded quarters, and severe overwork meant Cloud managed to catch every cold germ in a twelve mile radius.

He heaved himself to his feet as he heard Zack start to get up. The trickster of their little trio had been worried enough about Cloud's latest cold to actually take more than a day or two off, and he'd been the one waking up the past few nights. Starting tomorrow, it would be Sephiroth taking a few days off to keep an eye on their sick lover. ShinRa had been ready to kill when they found out he was insisting on taking three days off, but a well-placed glare had shut them all up.

Zack staggered into the kitchen, rubbing a hand across his sleep-hazed eyes. He smiled at Sephiroth who just eyed his boxers.

"Morning, Zack," he said slowly. "Can't you wear any more? _I'm_ cold looking at you."

Zack grinned as he pulled the medicine the doctors had prescribed for Cloud out of the cabinet. "I think it's probably a good thing we're temperature resistant…I've got it at a steady seventy-five in here." He poured the sickeningly red syrup into the small cup, eyeing it distrustfully. "This stuff's not exactly working," he added, looking over to where Sephiroth was pouring tea.

"Hmm?" Sephiroth asked, capping off the bottle he'd just been spiking the tea with.

Zack's eyes widened. "Holy shit, Seph! Cloud doesn't have the enhancements—that'll knock him out like _that_!" he yelped, snapping his fingers for emphasis.

Sephiroth shot him a devious grin. "That's the idea. You need the sleep almost as much as he does. I can watch over the two of you for a few hours."

Zack rolled his eyes as he lead the way to the bedroom Cloud was sleeping in. "Remind me not to rile up your mothering instincts," he mumbled as he pushed the door open. Setting the little cup of medicine on the bedside table, he sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over Cloud, shaking his shoulder softly.

"Come on, baby," he whispered sweetly. "You gotta wake up, just for a minute."

Still sleeping, Cloud mumbled something undecipherable between exhaustion and cold. Zack tried once more, sounding slightly more exasperated, and maybe just a little worried. Looking at him, Sephiroth set the steaming mug down next to the medicine and carefully bent over Zack. Gently, he lifted Cloud into his arms, blankets and all. Ignoring Zack gleeful look at how motherly he looked, Sephiroth kissed Cloud's feverish forehead.

"Wake up, Cloud," he murmured against the clammy skin before kissing him again.

The blonde stirred fitfully and Sephiroth tightened his grasp; he didn't want to even risk Cloud falling. Slowly, the blue eyes he knew so well fluttered open, though they were hazy and only half-focused.

"S'phiross?" Cloud yawned, eyes fluttering.

Sephiroth smiled gently and sat down next to Zack. "You need to take your medicine, Cloud. Then we can let you go back to sleep, okay?"

Zack lifted the little cup to Cloud's lips and tilted it. "Drink up, Spike," he teased. "I'd kiss you, but even I don't like the taste of that shit."

Cloud laughed, wheezing slightly. "You eat your own cooking and you say that?" he coughed, making a face as he swallowed the syrup. Silently, Zack handed the tea to Sephiroth, who helped Cloud hold it. The blonde drank the now-lukewarm tea quickly; it washed the taste of the medicine from his mouth.

Sephiroth set the mug aside, watching Cloud's eyes start to darken drowsily. He lay back slowly, bringing Cloud with him. The blonde smiled in his half-asleep state and fidgeted a little, getting comfortable. Zack crawled up to lay next to them, throwing an arm over Cloud to land against Sephiroth's neck. He buried his face against Cloud's neck, pressing small kisses at the junction of neck and shoulder.

As he drifted off to sleep, Sephiroth smiled slightly. The one good thing about the winter was that it made Cloud that much more of a snuggler. And with Mako enhancements, neither he nor Zack was at risk for a cold. It was good all around.

Well, barring the extra shifts.


End file.
